She Was Dismembered And Then Buried Next To A Road: After 27 Years She Was Identified, Yet Her Killer Is Still On The Loose
20-year-old Katrina Bentivegna grew up in Colorado, but she then graduated high school in May of 1993 and moved to Oklahoma, during the summer months.
After arriving in the new state, Katrina got married a couple of months later in November and went on to have a son.
One of Katrina’s classmates from high school said that she was a “beautiful” young woman who also was a wonderful friend.
Sadly, this young newlywed was murdered and disposed of in a heartbreaking way. It was April 24th, 1995 when Katrina’s dismembered body was found buried in quite a shallow grave next to the roadside near Highway 281 and Route 66 in Caddo County, Oklahoma.
“The Caddo County Sheriff’s Office requested OSBI assistance with the investigation,” the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
“It was difficult to identify Bentivegna at the time because her feet, hands, and head were removed from her body.”
“In 1996, a skull was found that the OSBI later confirmed through DNA comparison belonged to the body found in 1995.”
Katrina’s skull was found a little over a mile away from where the rest of her had been buried.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; pictured above is Katrina
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe.
Authorities spent years after that trying to figure out who she was and who had murdered her, without any luck.
In March of last year, the OSBI Cold Case Unit worked with Parabon Nanolabs to run Katrina’s DNA, and they were able to track down relatives of hers.
After obtaining DNA from Katrina’s relatives, they finally knew her name. It took 27 years to identify her, and sadly, her killer is still on the loose.
“We are thrilled to be able to reunite Katrina with her family,” OSBI Director Ricky Adams said. “While it took 27 years to be able to deliver the news, we never stopped working to identify Katrina.”
“We pursue all options available at the time for victims and sometimes we have to wait for technological advances like forensic genetic genealogy. The first step in cases like this is to identify the victim. Now we continue our pursuit of justice for Katrina.”
Katrina’s son, who has chosen to remain unnamed, said, “I appreciate all the hard work the OSBI has put into identifying my mother. There have been many unanswered questions over the past 27 years but now I have closure in knowing what happened to my mom.”
If you have any information related to Katrina’s murder, or even if you knew her, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation would like to speak to you. You can call them at 800.522.8017.
More About:True Crime